Fillies

A filly is a young female horse. The Oxford Learner's Dictionary adds that the word is used especially for one under four years old.

A passport in her first year

GOV.UK says anyone who keeps a horse, pony or donkey must have a passport for each animal. Semi-wild ponies on Dartmoor, Exmoor, Wicken Fen and in the New Forest need one only if they are not free to roam there, or if a vet treats them. The owner must get the passport before the animal is 12 months old.

A vet has to implant a microchip first. The owner then applies through a Passport Issuing Organisation by whichever date is later: 30 November of the year she was born, or six months after her birth.

A passport issued more than 12 months after birth counts as late. It is issued as a duplicate, and the horse can then not be used as food for people. GOV.UK notes that the rules are different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Company of her own kind

Defra's code of practice for the welfare of horses describes them as herd animals that should be able to mix with other horses. Keeping a horse on its own can harm it psychologically, the code says. Other animals can keep it company, but other horses are by far the better choice.

World Horse Welfare sums up a horse's basic needs as friends, forage and freedom. It says horses are mainly grazers and need a diet based on forage, such as grass, hay or haylage.

How young horses learn

World Horse Welfare says horses learn all the time, not only in training sessions. They learn from what happens after they do something. If an action ends in something good, such as a slice of carrot, they are more likely to repeat it.

The charity suggests breaking training into easy, logical steps and rewarding the horse when she does what was asked.

Breeding or buying

Defra's code asks owners thinking of breeding to consider whether they could buy or rehome a youngster instead. Caring for a young foal can be expensive and takes a great deal of time, it says, and there is no guarantee the foal will grow into the horse you want.

The British Horse Society (BHS) explains that a vetting before purchase checks a horse for health problems that could affect what you want to do with her. A vetting is not a guarantee of future health. The BHS describes two kinds, a 2 stage and a 5 stage examination. Both include a check of the passport and microchip.

When you buy a horse, GOV.UK says you must contact the Passport Issuing Organisation within 30 days to update the owner's details.

The duty of care

Defra's code explains that under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, owners and keepers have a legal duty of care for the animals they are responsible for. It adds that a parent or guardian is responsible for any animal owned or cared for by a child under 16.

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